Court suggests arbitration in Deccan Chargers' hearing

The Bombay High Court has suggested arbitration as a means of resolving the dispute between Deccan Chronicles Holdings Limited, the owners of Deccan Chargers, and the BCCI. The court is hearing a petition on the termination of Chargers' IPL contract and reserved its judgement till Tuesday.

The petition had been filed last week and is being heard by Justice SJ Kathawala. Today, in one of many suggestions to both DCHL and the Indian board, Kathawala offered both parties the choice to seek a solution to the dispute via the arbitration route through mutual consent.

The Chargers' counsel was happy with the suggestion, but the BCCI's lawyer sought another day. The judge did point out to both counsels that in failing to decide on a mutually agreed upon arbitrator, the court had the right to appoint one in its discretion. "The judge had a many things to say and suggest. That does not mean that is the final decision. Our counsel would argue all points tomorrow," a BCCI official said.

Two other IPL franchises - Kings XI Punjab and Rajasthan Royals - have already gone to court over termination of their IPL contract, and benefited from the decision of court-appointed arbitrators.The BCCI had in 2010 cancelled the two franchises' contracts over alleged violations. But both challenged the expulsion in the Bombay High Court and got a reprieve after the arbitrator stayed the termination, allowing Kings XI and Rajasthan a re-entry into the IPL.